report on programme manipulation - Independent Inquiry Committee

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INDEPENDENT INQUIRY COMMITTEE INTO THE UNITED NATIONS OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME REPORT ON PROGRAMME MANIPULATION CHAPTER TWO OIL TRANSACTIONS AND ILLICIT PAYMENTS their initial meeting, Mr. Pasqua facilitated Mr. Aziz’s visit to France at a time when the country had no diplomatic relations with Iraq. He had his second meeting with Mr. Aziz when they attended dinner together in Paris in 1995. Mr. Pasqua has denied that he ever developed a close relationship with Mr. Aziz. He also has denied speaking to Mr. Aziz about an oil allocation. 86 Mr. Guillet served as a diplomatic advisor to Mr. Pasqua at the Ministry of Interior from 1993 to 1995 and at the Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine from 1995 to 2001. In this position, Mr. Guillet accompanied Mr. Pasqua in his meetings with foreign officials and undertook several missions on behalf of the Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine. Mr. Guillet traveled to Baghdad on at least nine occasions in his capacity as a diplomatic advisor to Mr. Pasqua. According to Mr. Guillet, he did develop a close personal relationship with Mr. Aziz. 87 Oct. 2, 1994, p. 1 (describing Mr. Pasqua as Mr. Aziz’s most influential ally in the French administration). Several media <strong>report</strong>s also portrayed Mr. Pasqua as a supporter of Mr. Aziz in France. Lally Weymouth, “The Saddam Lobby,” The Washington Post, May 8, 1994, p. C7 (stating that, according to United States intelligence sources, Mr. Pasqua was “coaching the Iraqis behind the scenes” about ending sanctions); “Iraq pleads for ‘solid relations’ with France,” Agence France Presse, Oct. 27, 1994 (<strong>report</strong>ing that Mr. Guillet, Mr. Pasqua’s foreign affairs advisor, commented that a link had been reestablished between France and Iraq, Iraq had opened an interest section in Paris in October 1993, and Iraq would be “reduced to despair” if sanctions continued). 86 Charles Pasqua interview (Oct. 3, 2005); Serge Boidevaix interview (Oct. 4, 2005); United States House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce staff members, Andrew Snowdon, Chris Knauer, and Thomas Feddo, meeting with Charles Pasqua, p. 3 (June 3, 2005); see also Charles Pasqua letter to Joe Barton (June 2, 2005) (clarifying that Mr. Pasqua met with Mr. Aziz on two occasions in Paris, in October 1993 and again “probably in 1995”). Mr. Guillet deemed this meeting to be important in France-Iraq relations and stated in an interview in 2001 that Mr. Pasqua convinced the authorities at the time that Mr. Aziz’s visit was a good opportunity to renew relations with Iraq. Bernard Guillet interviews (Oct. 3 and 5, 2005); Patrick Jarreau and Fabrice Lhomme, “Le diplomate de Charles Pasqua sort de l'ombre et éclaire l'affaire Falcone,” Le Monde, Apr. 29, 2001. Furthermore, the media <strong>report</strong>s at the time raised many questions surrounding this visit once it became public. “Irak Tarek Aziz à Paris pour ‘raisons médicales,’” Le Monde, Oct. 19, 1993; Mouna Naim, “Officiellement en France pour raisons médicales Le séjour de Tarek Aziz à Paris soulève de nombreuses questions” Le Monde, Oct. 21, 1993; “Irak: Tarek Aziz a quitté la France” Le Monde, Oct. 26, 1993; see also French Ministry of Foreign Affairs record, “Point de pressedeclaration du porte-parole” (Oct. 17, 1993) (Oct. 18, 1993) (Oct. 25, 1993) (responses of the spokesman to questions related to details of Mr. Aziz’s visit) (each translated from French). 87 Charles Pasqua interview (Oct. 3, 2005); Bernard Guillet interviews (Oct. 3 and 5, 2005) (he eventually called Mr. Aziz by his first name, “Tariq”); Alain Catta letter to Charles Pasqua (May 4, 2001) (translated from French) (referring to the fact that Mr. Guillet was “made available” to Mr. Pasqua, pursuant to an exchange of letters between the Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs); Charles Pasqua letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (May 30, 2001) (translated from French) (stating that Mr. Guillet could not be seconded to Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine because of a court order barring him from contacting Mr. Pasqua); Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine record, mission orders (Jan. 22, 2001) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, February 4 to 18, 2001), (undated) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, July 8 to 16, 1996), (undated) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, May 4 to 11, 1998), (Jan. 26, 1999) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, January 29 to February 7, 1999), (Apr. 27, 1999) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to REPORT ON PROGRAMME MANIPULATION–OCTOBER 27, 2005 PAGE 54 OF 623
INDEPENDENT INQUIRY COMMITTEE INTO THE UNITED NATIONS OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME REPORT ON PROGRAMME MANIPULATION CHAPTER TWO OIL TRANSACTIONS AND ILLICIT PAYMENTS 2. Oil Allocations and Contracts According to Iraqi officials, including Mr. Aziz, and Ministry of Oil records, 11 million barrels were allocated to Mr. Pasqua between Phases VI through VIII. The allocations for Mr. Pasqua were designated under “France” in SOMO allocation tables. According to an Iraqi official, Mr. Guillet represented Mr. Pasqua at SOMO regarding the oil allocations. 88 In June 1999, Mr. Guillet visited Baghdad. In a letter to the Ministry of Oil during this visit, Mr. Aziz’s chief of staff explained Mr. Guillet’s role in Mr. Pasqua’s allocations: 89 Please note that Mr. (Bernard Guillet) is the diplomatic and political advisor to Mr. (Charles Pasqua), the French politician and the former Minister of the Interior . . . and he represents [Mr. Pasqua] in collecting the quota of oil that is allocated to Mr. (Pasqua). 90 Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, April 29 to May 8, 1999), (June 11, 1999) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, June 14 to 19, 1999), (Feb. 21, 2000) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, February 28 to March 3, 2000), (Dec. 11, 2000) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, November 5 to 15, 2000), (Jan. 22, 2001) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, February 4 to 18, 2001) (each translated from French). Mr. Pasqua defined Mr. Guillet’s position as “a member of his cabinet” and advisor to the Conseil in general, however, Mr. Guillet insisted that his position was advisor to Mr. Pasqua, the President of the Conseil specifically, and that as a top diplomat he would not have accepted any other arrangement. Charles Pasqua interview (Oct. 3, 2005); Bernard Guillet interviews (Oct. 3 and 5, 2005). Alain Catta served as the General Director of Administration at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 88 Tariq Aziz interview (Mar. 1, 2005); Iraq officials interviews (stating that Mr. Guillet came to SOMO in person and represented Mr. Pasqua); Tariq Aziz interview (Mar. 1, 2005) (stating that he thought that Mr. Pasqua’s interactions with Iraq were conducted through Mr. Guillet); Committee oil beneficiary table, contract nos. M/06/74, M/07/92, M/08/113; SOMO letters to Amer Rashid (June 21, 1999) (approving contract M/06/74 for 3 million barrels of oil for “Genmar Resources GMBH (Charles Pasqua)”), (undated) (increasing the allocation for “Pasqua” by 1 million barrels of oil based on an instruction from Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan on October 14, 1999), (Jan. 24, 2000) (approving contract M/07/92 for 3 million barrels of oil for “Genmar (Charles Pasqua)”), (Sept. 21, 2000) (approving contract M/08/113 for 4 million barrels of oil for Genmar Resources GMBH (Charles Pasqua)”) (each translated from Arabic) (hereinafter “Approval letters for Pasqua contracts”); SOMO oil allocation tables for Phase VI (May 27, 1999) (indicating an allocation of 3 million barrels of oil for “Charles Pasqua”), Phase VII (Dec. 17, 1999) (indicating an allocation of 4 million barrels of oil for “Charles Pasqua”), Phase VIII (June 14, 2000) (indicating an allocation of 4 million barrels of oil for “Charles Pasqua”) (each translated from Arabic) (hereinafter “SOMO oil allocation tables for Pasqua”). 89 Mr. Guillet was in Iraq from June 15 to June 18, 1999. Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine record, mission orders (June 11, 1999) (for Mr. Guillet’s mission to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, June 14 to 19, 1999). 90 Sami Sa’doun letter to Saddam Z. Hassan (June 19, 1999) (exact year not noted on document, however, the date of the document matches with Mr. Guillet’s trip to Baghdad in June 1999, and the document was part of the SOMO file related to Phase VI of the Programme). REPORT ON PROGRAMME MANIPULATION–OCTOBER 27, 2005 PAGE 55 OF 623
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